Canon second-quarter income down 13 percent

We’d seen preliminary signs of a slowing global economy begin to affect the imaging market, but quarterly financials from industry leader Canon this week put some hard numbers to this trend.

A sliding U.S. dollar appears to be largely to blame for Canon’s reported 13-percent drop in net income compared to this period a year ago. PMA Newsline reported this week that Canon’s digital camera and general imaging sales have continued to grow on a local-currency basis. “The negative effect, however, of the sharp and sudden appreciation of the yen against the U.S. dollar has contributed to declines in net sales compared to last year,” Canon concluded in its financial statement.

Interestingly, the Japanese yen’s year-on-year appreciation of 13 percent against the dollar mirrors Canon’s quarterly income decline.

In spite of 16 percent growth in digital camera sales versus a year ago, Canon has also seen profits in the camera segment fall 18 percent over the last year. According to the PMA story, intense price competition in the crowded digicam market and the falling dollar are to blame.

The full story, including Canon‘s reported quarterly numbers, can be viewed via PMA Newsline.